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Show Hit-and-run driver comes forward Student to undergo evaluation for porn Today is Friday, March 28, 2008 Breaking News North Carolina defeats Washington State 68-47 to advance to the Elite Eight. * www.utahstatesman.com Logan, Utah :Utah State University By ALISON BAUGH assistant news editor While awaiting final sentencing, USD student John David Taylor will spend 90 days in the Utah State Prison undergoing a diagnostic evaluation including a psycho-sexual component. Taylor, 18, was arrested Dec. 13, 2007, after USU police were served a search warrant and found numerous items of child pornography in his on-campus apartment room, said Capt. Steve Milne with the USU Police. USU police were contacted by a member of the New Hampshire Police Department, Internet Crimes Against Children section, who had posed as a 14year-old boy for the investigation and received numerous pictures, live video feed and information from Taylor over the Internet, Milne said. After being contacted by the detective and receiving CDs of Page 9 Campus News Students should be careful when discarding hazardous materials. Page 3 the images, Milne said the police department requested a search warrant for the room in Moen Hall, where Taylor lived. "Several thousand digital pictures of child pornography on compact discs and a laptop" were seized from Taylor's room, Milne said. Taylor was then charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second degree felony, Milne said. Taylor could have been charged for each time a picture was sent over the Internet, but any number over 10 doesn't really make a difference, Milne said. Taylor later plead guilty to two of those charges. On Monday, Taylor was sentenced to the Utah State Prison by Judge Clint S. Judkins in the First District Court, according to case minutes. Taylor will appear before Judkins again July 7 for final sentencing. -alison.baugh@aggiemail.usu.edu ByARlEKIRK news editor A 21-year-old USU student voluntarily turned himself in to police Sunday, admitting he was the driver who struck Sara Sharp in a hit-and-run accident March 19. USU Police Lt. James Nye said police have filed with the Cache County Attorney's Office and are now awaiting charges against the male. The district attorney will decide what charges will be pressed, but Nye said police suggested ones they think appropriate, like leaving the scene of an injury accident and failing to yield at a crosswalk. Nye said after the male decided to "come forward and do the right thing," he described the details of the accident, telling police he became drowsy while driving near 1100 E. 700 North. He said he realized he had hit someone and did break but it was too late. Nye said the male looked in his side-view mirror, saw Sharp being attended to and decided to just keep driving. The male told police he hadn't slept or drank since the incident because of the guilt he felt. After turning himself in, police arranged a meeting between Sharp and the male during which he asked forgiveness, Nye said. Sharp accepted his apology. Nye said, "It is very gracious when a victim forgives their offender." Sharp was released from the hospital Sunday, Nye said, after receiving a broken femur and internal bruising in the accident. -arie.k@aggiemail.usu.edu USU'sfoggy bottom Features A year later, see what life is like for the Pauni family in their new home. i & t t i ''age 4 Sports This runner from Africa is lightning fast and has plans to compete in the Olympics. Page 8 Opinion EARLY M O R N I N G FOG graces the USU campus Wednesday. Recent unusual changes in weather, including skiffs of snow and icy-windshields;,haye; left students wondering if spring will ever come. CAMERON PETERSON photo ,- i v ; :C ^.n "** "We need to know what our ;s ;; government is doing and what they plan oh doing, so we, as the people they represent, can go voice our displeasure or pleasure or just plain have a voice in the process - especially on important issues like tuition or smoking." 10 Almanac Today in History: In 1939, the first NCAA men's basketball tournament is played, as the University of Oregon beat Ohio State University. March Madness is the second-most popular sporting event among gamblers, after the Super Bowl. Weather High: 45° Low: 29° Skies: Cloudy with chance of rain in the Master of social work to be offered in fall By RACHEL CHRISTENSEN staff writer USU's new master of social work program is on track to begin fall semester 2008, said Derrik Tollefson, associate clerical professor and coordinator of the master of social work program. "It's really different from other social work master programs because we have a part-time format at our regional campuses," Tollefson said. "That makes the program accessible and doable for people in parts of the state who wouldn't otherwise be able to access it." Social work degrees are in high demand, Tollefson said, and that demand is reflected in the number of applications the program received. Terry Peak, associate professor and social work program director, said "We received 150-160 applications. The application process is closed now. We're just waiting for the last people we accepted to agree to come to our program. We'll have 30 to 32 students on Logans campus and 11 to 12 on each of the regional campuses. That makes just under 80 students altogether." Tollefson said the process to create the master of social work has been going on for more than four years. "We started with a formal needs assessment across the state," Tollefson said. "We visited communities and made online surveys to demonstrate a want and need for the program." Peak said the assessments showed a big need for master of social work degrees because Utah's communities need more workers with social work degrees. Peak also said the program is needed because the programs at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah are oversubscribed. BYU's undergraduate social work program has been eliminated, but Peak said USU's master of social work program was already being created and was not influenced by BYU's decision. "Our focus is for students to get their degree here in Utah and stay in Utah to work " Peak said. "If they can't get into the University of Utah or BYU, they'd have to go out of state and likely stay there and work." While creating the master of social work program, Tollefson said faculty visited schools like BYU, Utah and Walla Walla University in Washington to learn from their social work programs. "We learned mostly about how to try and carry out the program, what worked well for them, what didn't work," Tollefson said. "Minimizing travel is one of the things we learned students want, which is why we're offering a lot of courses over the Web and at distance locations." The application reviewing and accepting process for the program takes around two months, Tollefson said. He said each application is rated by two members of a committee, the two scores are averaged, and then the committee makes acceptance decisions based on that score and the students' qualifications. "They need to have an undergraduate degree and have completed some minimum coursework in social and behavioral science," Tollefson said. "The average GPA was just under 3.5. Out of those accepted, they had an average of just under five years of work in social work area, and you have to do well on the admissions test." Once accepted, Tollefson said the curriculum is divided into two areas. "They have what's called a foundation part of curriculum where they learn basics of social work practice, including a practicum," Tollefson said. "Then there's the advanced portion of curriculum where they learn more specific skills and gain greater depth. A lot of that training has to do with providing counseling services to individuals, families and groups, as well as to prepare them to do community-level work." Although the new program is on track to admit its first students in the fall, Tollefson said, the master of social work program is not yet accredited and can't be until its first set of students graduate. "Like all new social work programs, we're going through the process of being granted candidacy," Tollefson said. "We have our documentation in and we expect to be granted candidacy in January. Then we'll be in the two years candidacy period until we can be accredited." Tollefson said the goal of the program is to prepare professionals to work with individuals and make society a better place. "Our ideal student is somebody who is passionate about social work and helping other people," Tollefson said. "We want students who have real-life experience so they know what the work is all about and are prepared for the rigors of the work, students who can think critically and independently and who are open to learning and growing as a professional." -rac.ch(a^a^iemail usu.edu |